1. Field
Embodiments relate to a rechargeable battery having a lead tab.
2. Description of the Related Art
A rechargeable battery is a battery that can be repeatedly charged and discharged, unlike a primary battery that is incapable of being recharged. A low-capacity rechargeable battery is used for small portable electronic devices such as a mobile phone, a laptop computer, and a camcorder. A large-capacity rechargeable battery is widely used as a power supply for driving a motor such as a hybrid vehicle.
Representative rechargeable batteries include nickel-cadmium (Ni—Cd) rechargeable batteries, nickel-hydrogen (Ni—MH) rechargeable batteries, lithium (Li) rechargeable batteries, and lithium ion (Li-ion) rechargeable batteries. The operating voltage of a lithium ion rechargeable battery is approximately 3 times higher than that of a nickel-cadmium battery or nickel-hydrogen battery that has been mainly used to power portable electronic equipment. The lithium ion rechargeable battery has been widely used due to advantages in terms of energy density per unit weight.
A lithium-based rechargeable battery generally uses a lithium-based oxide as a positive electrode active material and a carbon material as a negative electrode active material. Generally, a rechargeable battery may be classified into a liquid electrolyte battery and a polymer electrolyte battery depending on the kind of the electrolyte. A lithium-based rechargeable battery using a liquid electrolyte is referred to as a lithium ion battery and a battery using a polymer electrolyte is referred to as a lithium polymer battery.